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A digital artwork inspired by an organ transplant recipient’s “second lease on life” could soon offer comfort to patients at Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax.
Arlington artist Regina Chua donated her work, “Organ Donors,” to the institute during a May 30 ceremony at the Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery. The blue-toned image depicts a woman in a hospital gown receiving a glowing heart, representing renewal after transplantation.
Chua, a Filipino American digital artist, made the donation in recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The limited-print painting had previously appeared at the PARC at Tysons Art Gallery and was selected for the Society of Illustrators’ 67th Annual Exhibition in New York City.
She said she hoped the artwork would give patients and their families a moment of peace while reflecting their resilience and difficult medical journeys.
The piece was accepted by Monica Delaney, Inova’s senior program manager for Arts and Healing, and Joan Smith, chair of the InovAsians Team Member Resource Group.
A personal story behind the image
Chua created “Organ Donors” after a close friend underwent a transplant. Her friend faced compatibility concerns, repeated transfusions, a long wait for an organ and uncertainty surrounding the procedure.
After the transplant, the friend described the experience as a renewal and a second chance at life. Chua sought to capture that feeling by depicting a recipient taking a breath as a newly transplanted heart pulses.
The work’s dominant blue carries a deliberate contrast. Although the color can suggest sadness—and in a medical setting may evoke a patient who cannot breathe—Chua used it to symbolize gratitude, happiness and new life.
She made the heart glow because the decision to donate an organ, she said, metaphorically “comes from the heart.”
Chua created the image with Clip Studio Paint. She said digital tools give her greater control over the canvas and layers while making it easier to distribute her work widely without the material costs and single-copy limitations of traditional art.
Art woven into cancer care
Inova Schar Cancer Institute occupies 438,000 square feet at 8095 Innovation Park Drive, on the former ExxonMobil headquarters campus. The $400 million facility was established with help from a $50 million gift made by Dwight and Martha Schar in 2019.
The nonprofit hospital system describes the institute as the flagship of a Northern Virginia cancer-care network serving the broader Washington region. Designed for as many as 6,000 new patients annually, it provides inpatient, outpatient, clinical and support services.
Art was incorporated into the facility’s design rather than added as an afterthought. Paintings and other works fill its bright lobby and interior spaces, while the Arts and Healing Program offers a permanent collection, rotating exhibitions, performances and workshops for patients, relatives and staff.
The gallery presents contemporary work addressing subjects including healing, spirituality, multiculturalism, social change, health, community and the environment.
Inova’s artists-in-residence also work in outpatient infusion, radiation and waiting areas. Local visual, literary and performing artists lead activities intended to encourage expression, self-awareness and relief from stress. Inova says participating patients and caregivers often report reduced pain and anxiety.
The program works with the Smith Center, a nonprofit arts-and-health organization, to integrate creative experiences throughout patient care.
A community-funded program
Delaney said Inova carefully considers how its medical spaces feel to patients and relatives. Artwork appears throughout the cancer institute and in other Inova buildings, while musicians, art activities and music therapy help soften an otherwise clinical environment.
The Arts and Healing Program is funded entirely through philanthropy, she said, making Chua’s gift an example of the community support sustaining it.
Delaney said patients regularly describe the creative programs as deeply meaningful. Comments left in the gallery guestbook show how visitors connect with the exhibitions and can feel transported by the art, she added.
Inova was selecting pieces for its stem-cell and transplant spaces at the time of the ceremony. After hearing the story behind “Organ Donors,” Delaney said the work could find an especially meaningful home there, possibly accompanied by a plaque explaining Chua’s inspiration.
AAPI artists highlighted
Smith first encountered Chua’s work through Inova’s annual AAPI heritage celebration, which focused on Asian artists from the District, Maryland and Virginia.
Eight artists participated in the event, which included ikebana, Indonesian batik, calligraphy, live painting and work by a Korean autistic artist who communicates through painting. Chua exhibited as a graphic artist and later chose to donate her piece.
Smith said she hoped patients would find comfort in the image. Art can provide a peaceful pause and help people feel that someone understands what they are experiencing, she said.
The InovAsians group is one of 11 employee organizations intended to foster belonging within the health system. Other groups represent Hispanic and Latino employees, Black employees, LGBTQ employees, young and senior professionals, and people with disabilities.
Smith connected that sense of belonging to patient care, arguing that health care workers who feel engaged and valued are better positioned to perform critical work. She cited an employee survey in which 92% of respondents reported satisfaction and pride in being part of Inova.
For Chua, the donation placed her work where its message could resonate most directly. She praised the program for sharing art with patients seeking inspiration during treatment while also including the employees caring for them.